Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.

Chapter One

The bar is crowded and dim. She's surrounded by men whose scents, along with the dense fog of smoke, seem to permeate her senses until she can barely distinguish one from the other. Barely. Even now, in the relative peace that has taken over her life, her senses are alert. She looks up to see him across the room. He nods at her. She nods back. The guy seated at the table in front of hers leans in leering.Obviously he's gotten the wrong idea, but as he starts to get up, she stops him dead with a single look. She doesn't want trouble, but that part of her that's still running, the one that sounds an awful lot like Zack, tells her she's gone looking for trouble by staying so long in the same place, by staying with him.

Six years to the day they disappeared, she learned to hope again. She didn't know how many had survived. She was alone, isolated from everything and everyone, cold. That first night after she'd found clothes and food, she'd fallen asleep in an isle of a library turned post pulse shelter. Her sleeping bag had been under a stack of books about New York; with all its skyscrapers and people, it seemed like the perfect place to hide. Once she got there, she figured not moving might be the easiest way to disappear. She went to school, worked her way from day to day, and learned to be invisible. At night she dreamed of the family that would come looking for her.

"Any day now," she would whisper to herself. She wondered if she'd recognize them, if they'd recognize her, or, if they even still cared. Six years to the day they disappeared, as she made her way to school down a crowded street, she made eye contact with a stranger. She hesitated and kept walking, but there was something about him that kept pulling at her. "He looked a hell of a lot like-no, couldn't be." She had thought she'd seen them before- him, Max, Jondy, Zack, Tinga and even Ben- but she'd been wrong before and she was wrong now. Her body told her to keep walking and she did.

That night as she opened the door to her dingy apartment she heard someone hiding almost silently inside. "Stupid," she thought almost gleefully, "Very stupid." She walked in calmly and set her groceries on the counter. Before she could count to ten the intruder had managed to grab her, placing his hand over her mouth. She struggled for an instant-he was stronger than she had expected- but then training kicked in and she flipped him over her shoulder. He landed gracefully on his feet and she positioned herself for a counter attack.

"So it is you?" he said quietly.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked angrily. He moved deliberately over to the switch and flipped on the light. Fists clenched she took in the tall frame, dark hair and full lips. And the eyes. The eyes of the stranger in the crowd and those of a shy little boy hiding in the snow.

"Do you recognize me?" he asked. She sucked in her breath. It couldn't be, it could be a trick.

"Krit?" He nodded, smiled and stepped forward timidly. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

"Hey Syl, you know, I've been looking for you." He whispered. She pulled back and gave him a watery smile.

"What took you so long? It's a good thing I recognized you, I might have killed you and that would have been a shame."

"Haha," He replied deadpan. "You and what army?" She punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"I was getting worried I might never see any of you guys again." She whispered. He fingered a long piece of her hair. Honey blonde, just as he remembered it.

"So far I've only seen you and Zack."

"Zack? He's alive? Why isn't he with you?"

"Zack's following protocol, keeping tabs on us but keeping on the move. He'll come to you." He paused. "When he thinks its best," he added quietly.

"And the others? Maxie, Ben, Jondy, Tinga?"

"I don't know. Zack says he knows where they are and that he's found almost all of them. I think he's still looking for Max though." Her heart sank a little, if anyone needed to be free it was Max. She looked up at him and smiled.

"And how about you, where are you staying?"
"I have a motel room not too far…"

"Don't be an idiot. You're staying here. I'm about to cook myself dinner and you look like you could use some mac and cheese. Besides," she added hesitantly, "we've been separated for too long." She met his eyes and he nodded.

Her face softens when she feels the pressure of his hand on her shoulder.

"What took you so long? I thought I was going to die of hunger and thirst and that would have been a shame." She said, shoving him playfully.

"Did you know you're prone to exaggeration?" he replied, doing his best to keep a straight face while he positioned the tray on the table.

"Me? Never." She grabbed a piece of pizza and he did the same, moving a piece of hair gently from her eyes with his other hand. "Eat or it'll get cold." She mumbles through her full mouth.

"Well, that's attractive."